15 Weird but Effective L Reuteri Benefits for Your Gut Health
L reuteri benefits our gut in our first days of life. Read on for the insanely important ways l reuteri benefits a healthy immune system!
Limosilactobacillus reuteri (Zheng, 2020), or L reuteri, is part of the Lactobacillus family. It is one of the first micro superstars that set up shop in your gut. L reuteri benefits are SO IMPORTANT, that lacking it is an indicator of risk for chronic disease. So, if you’re like me, you’re wondering if you have L reuteri in YOUR gut.
This post is all about 15 weird but effective ways to get L reuteri benefits!
Gut healthy micro superstars featured in this post
L reuteri benefits our gut health in our first days of life. It is found in a mother’s breastmilk and our microbiome.
If you’ve read my post on Bifidobacterium bifidum, this may sound familiar. While both are probiotics, L reuteri can be found in certain types of carbohydrates including yams, beans, and artichokes (Walter & Haqq, 2020).
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L reuteri Probiotic Benefits
L reuteri is considered a probiotic because when you consume it, it brings positive effects to your health.
Probiotics are live microorganisms–generally bacteria and/or yeast…The theory with probiotics is that they mimic the effects on our intact microbiota. In other words, just like our healthy gut microbes, these probiotics should optimize our immune system, reduce inflammation, inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria, correct leaky gut and restore gut barrier integrity, reestablish intestinal motility, and even improve mood.
Busiewicz, 2020, p. 141
Imagine probiotic status as a winner ring, with contenders enduring a series of challenges. Healthy micro superstars have to demonstrate the ability to survive.
Surviving the gastrointestinal tract and resisting gastric acids is not easy (Montalban-Arques et al., 2015). Probiotics cannot cause antibiotic resistance (Montalban-Arques et al., 2015) and, most importantly, they must provide benefits to a person’s health!
Lactobacillus reuteri | Immunity Booster
Some people call L reuteri Lactobacillus reuteri. It’s official name is Limosilactobacillus reuteri. Try saying that three times!
Doctors agree L reuteri is an important component to a healthy immune system and gut. But, there is a catch.
What is the problem? We are increasingly losing L reuteri in our guts!
Dr. Kait
The average American is quickly losing L reuteri strains as we:
- consume highly processed foods over whole foods
- occupy overly sanitized spaces over exposure to natural germs and the outdoor environment
- take antibiotics regularly rather than very rarely
L reuteri is ancient. We have evolved strains of it to support our gut health over millions of years! Keep reading to learn all about how L reuteri supports a healthy you!
15 Lactobacillus reuteri benefits
It is an important micro superstar that helps babies digest milk, (similar to Bifidobacterium bifidum), and supports a whole host of wellness benefits to adults.
After the last two years of pandemic, sanitizing our groceries, isolating our kids and ourselves, it is abundantly clear why killing bad germs is a good idea. Wouldn’t it be great if something could do that inside of our guts?
L. reuteri has been found to produce antimicrobial molecules. In English? It is sanitizing our guts, killing the bad bacteria and allowing the good to flourish.
L. reuteri is antimicrobial. L. reuteri contains reuterin, which is antimicrobial (Talarico et al., 1988; Talarico & Dobrogrosz, 1989; Jones & Versalovic, 2009; Greifova et al., 2017). Similar to those antibacterial counter sprays we use to keep our homes clean, L. reuteri (through the production of reuterin, ethanol, and other organic acids) cleans and rebalances our guts.
Ever hear of Candida? It is a fungal infection caused by yeast and can appear in your vagina, your mouth, throat, or esophagus, or even on your skin. Often treated with medication, Candida can develop resistance, grow more infectious, and become more difficult to treat.
“Candida auris is an emerging multidrug-resistant type of Candida that presents a serious global health threat, including in the United States. It can cause severe infections and spreads easily in healthcare facilities.”
Center for Disease Control
L reuteri has been found to be antifungal and reduce several strains of Candida
It could support anti-fungal treatment without risk of building additional medication resistance (Jorgensen et al., 2017).
L reuteri fights infection. Apart from rebalancing an otherwise healthy gut, L reuteri is also able to work against infection.
For example, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), is an infection from bacteria in your stomach (Mayo Clinic). Ewwww! It causes inflammation in your stomach, ulcers and, in the worst case, stomach cancer.
L reuteri has been found to reduce H. pylori, E. coli, Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), and Salmonella (Reid & Burton, 2002; Francheschi et al., 2007; Lesbros-Pantoflickova et al., 2007; Cherian et al., 2015; Genis et al., 2017).
Doctors have also found L reuteri to reduce virus severity in circoviruses (Karaffova et al., 2017) and coxsackieviruses, otherwise known as Hand Foot Mouth Disease (Ang et al., 2016). L reuteri may have antiviral components, killing the bad guys while giving the good guys a chance to reassemble and fight infection (Ang et al., 2016).
Inflammation is the foundation for a host of problems and can reduce your quality of life. It can decrease your energy and is correlated with depression, stress, and obesity. Inflammation that is chronic or constantly present, can lead to heart disease, arthritis, depression, Alzheimer’s, and cancer (Ricciotti & Golen, 2020).
Doctors Have Found that Supplementing with L reuteri may prevent against Inflammation
Similar to other micro superstars which I have written about including Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium bifidum our bodies process these powerful probiotics best when consumed through natural whole foods in your regular meals. Sweet potatoes anyone?
But, I Still Want a L Reuteri Supplement…
Looking for a Lactobacillus reuteri supplement? Lactobacillus reuteri dam 17938 benefits your gut health and can support a healthy immune system! You can find a lactobacillus reuteri supplement here on Amazon and have it delivered right to your door!
L reuteri has been found to reduce inflammatory small protein cells which work in our immune system (cytokines) (Mu et al., 2018).
Unfortunately, as our food has become more processed over the last several decades, we have less L reuteri in our guts, and more incidence of inflammatory diseases.
Dr. Kait
Our intestinal barrier keeps a balance in our microbiota and allows good bacteria in while keeping the bad bacteria out. Maybe you read the post on Lactobacillus rhamnosus, all about the yin yang relationship our intestinal barrier manages.
Doctors have found L reuteri to decrease the migration of bacteria from our bowels (gut lumen) to our tissues
This is really important! When bad bacteria DO cross over, they create inflammation (Mu et al., 2018). L reuteri attaches itself to our intestinal barrier (intestinal epithelium) and both strengthens it as well as enhances its probiotic properties (Navarro et al., 2017; Olson et al., 2016; Salas-Jara et al., 2016).
L reuteri has been found in many studies to decrease inflammation symptoms, and strengthen the intestinal barrier, which you guessed it, decreases inflammation!
Kait’s Cupboard
Strong intestinal walls make a difference. In a study on children with atopic dermatitis, a long-term inflammation of the skin commonly known as eczema, doctors found a relationship between immune dysfunction and intestinal wall strength (De Benedetto et al., 2010).
Children with eczema were largely found to have a permeable intestinal wall, contributing to inflammation.
De Benedetto et al., 2010
Lactobacillus rhamnosus and reuteri Benefits: Women and Children’s Health
If L reuteri could speak, it would advocate for women and children’s health. Present in healthy vaginas, L reuteri has shown promise in addressing bacterial vaginosis, thrush, and cystitis (Keown, 2015). According to Dr. David Fredricks, an expert on the vaginal microbiota, L reuteri and Lactobacillus rhamnosus are key to balance and women’s vaginal health.
“I would say, if I was going to pick one probiotic intervention that we actually have scientific evidence to suggest that it actually has some benefit, it would be Lactobacillus reuteri with Lactobacillus rhamnosus,” he said, although he noted that larger randomized, controlled trials are needed to confirm this benefit.
Dr. Fredricks, physician-researcher at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
L reuteri Probiotic Infant Benefits
Our youngest children also have shown benefit from supplementation with L reuteri (Garcia-Rodenas et al., 2016). In a study to support the development of healthy immune systems and microbiomes of babies born through C-section, doctors provided L reuteri to babies beginning at two weeks through four months old. They found supplementing formula with L reuteri changed their microbiota to look more similar to babies born vaginally (Garcia-Rodenas et al., 2016). That is, their microbiota were more diverse and robust (Garcia-Rodenas et al., 2016).
Is an L reuteri Probiotic a Vitamin?
Kind of…L reuteri provides plenty of B12 and Folate vitamins. If you are like me you might be thinking, hold up, I can get some of my daily vitamins without taking a chalky daily vitamin?! Yep!
At least four L reuteri strains have been found to produce B12 (Taranto et al., 2003; Gu et al., 2015).
L reuteri has been found to provide vital vitamins for our health like B12 and folate.
Why do we need B12? According to the Harvard School of Public Health, B12 supports our formation of red blood cells and DNA. It also supports your brain and nerve cell function (The Nutrition Source, Harvard School of Public Health). It’s kind of a big deal.
B12 is a Vital Vitamin
Importantly, B12 is most easily absorbed when we eat foods that it is inside (The Nutrition Source, Harvard School of Public Health). Can you take a supplement? Yes, but often it isn’t fully absorbed for a host of reasons. So, if you would like to increase or sustain your vitamin B levels, it’s best to look for recipes that include foods with vitamin B, like Air Fried Lemon Dijon Salmon and Baked Potatoes or Asian Inspired Salmon in the Air Fryer. Or, recipes that will support the micro superstar this post is all about, L reuteri.
Doctors have found that L reuteri supports people’s guts, preventing diarrhea, abdominal pain, allergies, even supporting our dental health (similar to Lactobacillus rhamnosus). With wide reaching benefits, it is worth incorporating natural sources of this micro superstar weekly!
L reuteri Foods to Incorporate Today!
L reuteri benefits our gut health and overall health in so many ways! It’s highly likely we all could use a little more l reuteri! Even if you ate 2 pounds of sweet potatoes, artichokes, and beans yesterday, our bodies are constantly flushing out bacteria–good and bad. So, keep it coming! Try recipes including Northern beans in the Instant Pot, Garlic Hummus, refried beans, or roasted vegetables with almond bean dip!
Hi can you pls tell me where I can find the L Reuteri strain 17938? Bio Gaia has it but it’s grown in barely and I have Celiac disease and am hesitant to try it. Any ideas? Thank you for this awesome article and your help!
Hi Trish,
Thank you for reaching out. The recommended dose for Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 is 100 million CFU twice daily. So, look for a probiotic with that dosage. With that being said, you should only use a probiotic after having a conversation with a qualified health provider. This is to focus on personalized care, because everyone is different, and you want to make sure that what you take will work with your body. I hope this helps and hope you can find recipes and a supplement that will work for you!
Take care!
Kait
Where can I buy L-Rueteri supplement?
You can find a lactobacillus reuteri supplement here on Amazon and have it delivered right to your door!
Which strain reduces weight. Some make you gain. What about PB5073 reducer or gainer
Hi Janet!
The L. reuteri strains support a host of benefits but more related to supporting your immune system and helping bring your gut into balance. That is, keeping the good guys in your microbiome fueled and helping get rid of the bad guys. A healthy microbiome helps your body better process and digest nutrients which, in turn, helps weight loss. But, if you’re looking for other healthy ways to lose weight, check out my post on chickpeas! Seriously, they are like a superfood and statistically proven to help people lose weight. Another really healthy way to shed pounds is eating almonds! You can find my post on them here. And, if you’re not sure where to start with recipes you can search by keyword on my website and find a ton of really good recipes that will help you reduce weight without feeling hungry. Thank you for your note!
Dr. Kait